At MWC 2011 the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo has launched with a strong focus on imaging, offering up an 8-megapixel camera and HD video capture with Sony’s Exmor R sensor on board.

The new Android phone has been announced as one of a number of new devices at Sony Ericsson’s press conference at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Previously leaked, and known internally by Sony Ericsson as the Hallon, the new Sony Ericsson handset looks to offer a proposition similar to the Vivaz, with a unique design which we’ve heard Sony Ericsson refer to before called “human curvature”. The idea is that it is designed to fit into your hand and thereby be usable.

Picking up some of the buzz we saw on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, announced at CES 2011 in Las Vegas, you’ll again get the “reality display” with Sony Mobile Bravia Engine. This combined with the Exmor R imaging sensor suggests that Sony is really pushing its existing strengths into the new handsets.

It not only offers HD video capture, but also comes with an HDMI, so you’ll be able to watch back the action on the big screen - on a Sony TV no doubt.

The Xperia Neo will have a 3.7-inch, 854x480 resolution capacitive display, run on a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 processor and come with the latest Gingerbread version of Android, and all the Google goodness that comes with it. There is also a forward facing camera.

It's due out toward the end the first quarter of 2011, and you'll be able to get the Neo in blue, red and silver.

UPDATE: We've added a load more pictures in the gallery below - enjoy!

We're yet to hear exactly who will be carrying the Xperia Neo, but we’ll update you when we have all the details.

Don't miss out on the action - you can keep up to date with all the latest news from the show at our dedicated MWC 2011 page.